The Characterisation of Annabelle le Roux

Chapter Thirteen: Connections

The Lesser Lord George would bring the cotton bales on wooden boats into Zilby. If the weather had been clear throughout the journey the boats entered the harbour at seven thirty on Monday morning. At the docks they were greeted by dock workers who were working off their personal debt to the Lesser Lord George.

The bales were then loaded on to carts before being taken to factories where the material would be cut by machinery in preprogramed patterns. Huge clamps came down to do the stitching. The completed products would then be taken to market.

Meanwhile at the island's school, the children would line up every morning for inspection. Their shirts and skirts were examined for any sign of disregarding school uniform. Signs of thinning material were immediately flagged and the student would have to replace the uniform in a week or less.

Annabelle looked at the plan, written in Phoenix's rough handwritten and knew that justice was coming to the Lesser Lord George. She had every plan to make sure that he didn't reach his weekly quota. Annabelle took aim and let off the firecracker.

'Hey" came a scream from one of the dock unloaders 'Who do you think you are? Don't you know you are putting us in danger?" The man came running towards her, but he looked ridiculous with a fat belly overhanging. "They are eating a diet just made of pap" thought Annabelle as she ducked underneath a fence and jumped over a wave breaker. "When we get rid of the Mamlish, we will be able to use our land for more than just oranges, he is a victim too, despite the fact that he is defending the enemy's goods."

She jumped in the air and when she was at the turning point of the parabola she shot again, this time it was not a warning shot and the firecracker's aim was true. It went across the bay and landed precisely on its target, the ships masks. The masks immediately went up in flames. Workers could be seen scrambling around the decks of the ships. Some of them attempted to pull water up from the side of the ship to dose the flames with.

"Don't you care about anyone but yourself" screamed the worker. "Don't you know that they can't swim lady?"

Annabelle shot out a third firework, that hit the side of the ship, causing wood to fly into the air on all sides. She ducked her head as the statue of an angel that graced the front of the boat almost took out her head. She then dived into the water. Apparently, there were innocents slave working on the boat that didn't know how to swim.

Her strokes were graceful and powerful and in few short seconds she was at the sinking vessels side. She grabbed one particularly hapless man and threw his body (lifeless but still alive) over her one shoulder. She then dived to see whether anybody had been caught underneath the deck. She grabbed a hand and pulled the man up.

She swam back to the shore and deposited them on the ground going back for more. She did this routine four times, saving every person on board. By the time she came back to shore, she found the original survivors had made a campfire and were circled around it singing camp songs.

"We thought we were dead, we thought that our education had led us to our doom, but then Phoenix's spirit rose up and saved us. She took us by the hand, she took us by the waist. We turned around and though our livelihoods were gone, our lives were spared." It was a terrible song that didn't rhyme but Annabelle felt touched to the core.

Alicia got into far more trouble growing up than James did. Mostly it was getting called out for talking too much. Sometimes she was made to go sit outside. Other girls would say bad things about her, and she would complain about these girls to her parents, who would then reprimand her for speaking ill of others.

One time she heard a classmate called Lerona talking "Have you seen that little boy that Alicia keeps talking about. You'd think that she has the best brother in the world."